Art, Science and our Capital

I can’t believe how remiss I’ve been in my journal! Nothing much exciting was going on and then I was sick for a week and did nothing but lay on the couch (and go to work, so stupid). But last week I had the wonderful opportunity of attending the “Science of Art” conference hosted by the National Museum of American History in D.C. The museum paid for my first night and then after the conference was over Patrick and I made a little holiday of it and stayed an extra day and a half.

Washington Monument and swirly cloud by Patrick

The conference was actually really interesting and I always enjoy meeting colleagues from other museums. I liked brainstorming with the other attendees and thinking of ways we can better the leaders of tomorrow. I was also able to incorporate the enthusiasm for arts-based teaching I gained into a family workshop today at work– very cool! I did a reprise of my fresco painting class, condensed to 45 minutes. Everyone had a blast 🙂

Anyway, back to D.C. Pat wandered around on his lonesome while I soaked up all the art and science goodness. He took some fabulous photos and is now the house expert at the “shutter priority” setting on our camera. I was especially impressed with some of his museum shots.

Dancing with the planes @ Air and Space

Black and white composition

Air and Space

After the conference ended we did a TON of sight-seeing. One of my co-workers used to live in D.C. so she had a ton of insider tips for us (like how to get the Zoo without walking up the huge hill from the Metro- yessss!). It was so good to be out of Philly for a few days, to explore a new city together and to just relax. I am also very excited that we stayed exactly on our pre-planned budget. My favorite splurge was definitely our yummy lunch at some Mexican place by the Zoo. Nothing like a pitcher of sangria to put you in “vacation” mode!

Not as awesome when you're on the bus for 4 hours after...

D.C. is a really interesting town. We were both surprised by the lack of tall buildings (is there some kind of building code?), but it certainly made it easier to orient yourself to the Capitol! They seem to have a pretty extensive bicycle lane infrastructure– here’s an example of a “bike boulevard”, so classy.

Bike commuter paradise

There are also racks of bikes all over the city that you can rent by the hour and then return to any other rack station in the city. Seems like a pretty nifty idea and a good way to encourage people to leave their cars in the suburbs. We did notice a lot of pedestrians using the bike lanes as their own personal extension of the sidewalk though, so I guess this system is still getting some kinks worked out.

Tidal basin Cherry Trees

We spotted an alarming number of bow ties, many potential undercover agents and the usual kinda crazy/kinda funny bums. It’s really true, no matter where you go… people are pretty much the same!

Very wise!

On Friday we trekked to the National Cathedral. Very beautiful art, amazing stained glass and just a wonderful feeling of immensity. But beyond that we agreed that it didn’t really feel like a hallowed space. I wonder if it was the hoards of tourists or the fact that this space really does serve a non-religious purpose at times? I’m interested to see how this experience compares to centuries-old churches we’ll visit in Europe.

My photographic juxtaposition of church/state

My favorite sculpture

Central nave

We took over 800 pictures yowser! I can’t post them all here so I put a bunch on my flickr site click here. I’ll leave you with a few of my favorites:

2 Responses

What a great trip! To me, our nations’ capital is an odd juxtaposition of history, patriotism, national pride, monumental monuments, political energy, random citizens, glimpses of both the reflected poverty and wealth of our country… and our sheer power and determination in our every endeavor.

My real comment, however, is to your observation about the National Cathedral: When I was about ten years old, I went on a trip to D.C. as part of a group of “crossing guard” kids…yes, they let children guarantee the safety of other school children in crossing streets back then… go figure.

The cathedral was not finished at that time. Scaffolding was in place on the cathedral and all around the perimeter of the structure were work areas where stones and wood were being prepared. I saw an old man working on carving a gargoyle and spoke to him. He was very tolerant of the intrusion and my questions. When I asked my final question, “When will you get done?” he said something that even a ten-year old found profound: “Long after I am dead…but it will be magnificent.” I realized suddenly what true commitment must mean… and true faith. There was clearly no room in his comment or his mind for believing the job would not get done, regardless of how long it took, nor any doubt it would be done with the same patient skill and dedication he was using for his own contribution.

A few years ago I returned to the cathedral, and like you, I was amazed by its grandeur, its size and something else: There seemed a cool detachment from any real religious feeling to it. Everything in it and on it is perfect in every detail, from the stone carvings and woodwork to the exquisite stained glass…yet, it somehow lacks passion or religious fervor for me… perhaps I expected too much from something made by human hands.

As to that workman of long ago, he was, of course, correct: It is magnificent…and perhaps stands as our ultimately poor attempt but best effort to communicate with and touch God directly.

Hi Dad, I definitely agree about the “cool detachment from any real religious feeling.” Undoubtedly it is an amazing marvel of engineering, architectural and artistic workmanship. To devote your whole life (and livlihood!) to a mission you will never see to completion is pretty out of the ordinary for most “modern” jobs. Thinking in particular of the “islands” being built by the UAE or massive skyscrapers that now reach completion in just a few years. Have you read Ken Follett’s “Pillars of the Earth”? It’s about a medieval cathedral being built (and 1200 pages of historic fiction, haha) but worth a read. 🙂